Chapter 36. Leader Kim Song-cheol (1)

A few days later.

Team 24C gathered at Suho Hall.

After finishing their gear change, which had now become all too familiar, they entered the room containing the Portal Tablet.

Thud! Thud!

Park Ha-su struck his helmet hard twice.

When Kim Song-cheol looked back at the sound, Park Ha-su replied, “Ah, it’s just a routine,” as he briefly drew and sheathed his long sword twice with a click-clack.

“Please understand, Big Brother.”

Kang Hye-seong laughed as he massaged Kim Song-cheol’s shoulders.

“No, I wasn’t planning on blaming him, but does everyone else have a routine?”

“I don’t.”

“Me neither.”

Kang Hye-seong and Lee Yong-chan shook their heads.

They simply checked their equipment one more time.

Since they entered Dungeons at the risk of their lives, there were several Hunters who had strange routines or jinxes.

He had heard that one foreign Hunter followed a minute-by-minute routine from the moment he opened his eyes until right before entering a Dungeon.

If one looked for them, there were many even more bizarre routines and jinxes.

Compared to those, the thud-thud and click-clack were at a cute level.

Team 24C soon stepped onto the Portal Tablet.

Kim Song-cheol finished setting the difficulty and glanced around at his teammates.

Their sunken eyes sparkled with seriousness.

They didn’t look like the young men who joked around in the gym, but like true Hunters.

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

The team members answered Kim Song-cheol’s question in one voice.

“Transmission preparation complete. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

The countdown ended.

At the same time light burst from the Portal Tablet, Team 24C was transmitted into the Dungeon.

The place where Team 24C appeared was a ruin.

Large stones rolled around, and rotten timber lay scattered about.

On the well-trodden ground, only the faint traces of where buildings once stood remained.

It felt almost like an archaeological excavation site.

The Hunters, including Kim Song-cheol, remained still for a moment and scanned their surroundings.

This was because there were cases where one encountered Monsters immediately upon transmission.

“It seems safe.”

Kim Song-cheol said.

First of all, the view was wide open.

There wasn’t even a place for a Monster to hide.

Unless they were in the forest several hundred meters behind them.

“Is this the master bedroom, and this the kitchen?”

Lee Yong-chan, who was walking forward, guessed the house structure by looking at the traces left on the ground.

It was impossible to tell if there had been a roof, and most of the walls had vanished.

All that remained were the foundation stones.

It looked as if it had been a ruin for at least several hundred years.

“If there’s anything useful, grab it. We can donate it to a museum or something.”

“There are only stones. Should I donate these?”

Kang Hye-seong and Lee Yong-chan exchanged a few words.

They might find something if they actually dug, but there was no reason or need to do so.

It was just a map, anyway.

They didn’t even know if they would ever visit again once they left through the Portal.

There was nothing to be gained from studying the ruins.

“Let’s head to the forest. We need to earn Points.”

“Yes!”

As Kim Song-cheol gestured toward the forest, Lee Yong-chan and Kang Hye-seong immediately returned to formation.

Lee Yong-chan was at the very front, followed by Kang Hye-seong, then Kim Song-cheol, and Park Ha-su was at the very back.

Team 24C passed the ruins and entered a coniferous forest.

Tall conifers, like those in tundra terrain, stood at regular intervals.

As soon as they entered the forest, the scent of phytoncide wafted over them.

Lee Yong-chan, standing at the front, brandished his sword a couple of times and then slightly raised it.

It was exactly the kind of terrain where Monsters would appear.

Lee Yong-chan had entered a combat stance.

His steps forward were cautious but unhesitating, and while he maintained a wide field of vision, he kept his ears open.

Kim Song-cheol found Lee Yong-chan’s appearance quite reliable.

It was because he gave off a strong impression of having a lot of experience.

Team 24C traversed the forest without exchanging a single word.

There was no unnecessary joking, and they certainly didn’t stop to sightsee.

Only tension flowed between them.

By the time they had progressed like that for about 15 minutes.

‘This is strange.’

Kim Song-cheol’s eyes scanned the surroundings.

Nothing could be seen.

There were only trees, soil, and rocks.

Soon, Kang Hye-seong’s and Kim Song-cheol’s eyes met.

Kang Hye-seong asked with his eyes.

‘Isn’t this strange?’

Kim Song-cheol also replied with his eyes.

‘Let’s keep going for now.’

After walking for another 10 minutes, the trees gradually thinned out, and another ruin was revealed.

They still hadn’t encountered a single Monster.

“This is bad.”

Kim Song-cheol threw out the first words as they left the forest.

“No matter how I look at it, this is an Arena.”

Park Ha-su said as he approached while walking backward.

Unlike the other teammates who were looking ahead, he was guarding the rear.

“It looks like an Arena, doesn’t it?”

Lee Yong-chan said, sharply scanning the surroundings.

Although he had lowered his sword, his muscles were pulled taut so that he could spring into action at any moment.

“….We’ll have to consider it an Arena. Until a Monster appears.”

Kim Song-cheol said heavily.

An Arena refers to a Dungeon where there are no Monsters.

Instead of Monsters, many Hunters are deployed.

That is why it is called an Arena.

If many Hunters are put inside, a fight naturally breaks out.

This is because not all Hunters enter a Dungeon based on the principle of active defense like the people of Earth.

In fact, in these situations, some countries switch to an active offensive.

Killing a Hunter yields more than 100 times the Points of a Monster.

Furthermore, Hunter kill Points increase exponentially as the level gets higher.

The Dungeon itself was at a level that encouraged combat between Hunters.

“Let’s hide first. It’s too open here.”

According to Kim Song-cheol’s opinion, Team 24C went back into the forest.

While even muffling their footsteps, they moved around the ruins.

Even if it was an Arena, it was still a Dungeon, and they had to find a Portal to leave.

Finding the Portal without encountering other Hunters was the best course of action.

Of course, he didn’t know if that would be possible.

Team 24C continued through the forest.

They couldn’t let their guard down.

Monsters and Hunters are different.

One cannot predict where or how they will pop out.

At that moment, Lee Yong-chan, who was standing at the very front, stopped walking.

He moved his head to point his ear forward.

His ear could be seen twitching.

It seemed he had heard some sound.

First, Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su lowered their stances.

Blue and red Aura slowly seeped out from their swords.

Flutter…!!

A few seconds later, Kim Song-cheol also heard a sound.

It was a very faint sound.

He first channeled his Mana.

The thing that eventually revealed itself was a pair of green wings.

The wings were fluttering next to a hazy green sphere.

It was moving very quickly, dodging trees as it approached.

“On guard! It’s a Spirit!”

Kim Song-cheol raised his voice.

At those words, Team 24C sharply scanned the surroundings.

That wasn’t a Monster; it was a Spirit.

That meant a Spiritist was nearby.

A large Magic Circle appeared in front of Kim Song-cheol.

It was Magic intended to intercept the Spirit.

“Sylph! No!”

At that moment, a youthful voice echoed through the forest.

It was a voice that didn’t suit a Dungeon.

It was also then that Kim Song-cheol’s slowly rotating Magic Circle stopped.

The figure of a child could be seen between the trees.

But soon, an adult’s arm reached out from behind the tree and pulled the child’s arm.

The distance was about 50 meters.

“We have no intention of attacking! I ask that you do not destroy it! Instead, I will give you information!”

A young man’s voice spread from behind the tree.

“Please!”

The child’s voice was heard as well.

Kim Song-cheol first kept his eye on the Spirit.

A contract with a Spirit is mental.

If a Spirit is destroyed, the contractor receives a massive rebound.

In this case, that child would receive it.

Kim Song-cheol first raised his hand to signal his teammates to standby.

The Swordsmen watched the Spirit while maintaining their tension as if they would leap at any moment.

The atmosphere of Team 24C was full of tension, but the Spirit alone circled leisurely above Kim Song-cheol’s head.

If it did anything even slightly suspicious, he would strike it with lightning.

However, Kim Song-cheol was sensing it.

The fact that the Spirit had no intention of attacking.

It felt as if it were whispering to his heart.

Flutter…!!

At some point, the Spirit gently landed on top of Kim Song-cheol’s head.

A pleasant breeze blew from the rapidly fluttering wings.

With that, the icy atmosphere seemed to relax slightly.

“…Go.”

Kim Song-cheol said as he shooed the Spirit away.

Then the Spirit flew up again and fluttered toward the child.

Once the Spirit returned, a voice spread out from behind the tree.

“…As promised, I will give you information.”

His voice sounded as if he were speaking right next to them.

It seemed to be a trick of the Spirit.

“From what we have confirmed so far, there are 13 groups. Among them, two groups are hunting together. Never go north.”

“Are those two groups in the north?”

“Yes.”

They had quite detailed information.

It was thanks to the Spirit’s scouting.

“The location of the Portal?”

“We haven’t found it yet.”

“Why did you send the Spirit?”

“It was the Spirit’s independent action. Low-ranking Spirits are not that intelligent. It happens sometimes.”

Originally, a Spirit of Wind could move without making a sound.

The fact that it approached while making the sound of fluttering wings added credibility to the claim that it was an independent action.

“…Good luck.”

With those words, one adult and one young child came out from behind the tree and walked hurriedly away somewhere.

The young child was, at most, about a 6th grader in elementary school.

“….Have you ever seen a kid that young?”

Kang Hye-seong asked.

“No.”

The team members shook their heads in succession.

“Let’s move.”

Kim Song-cheol gave the command in a fairly businesslike tone.

At that, the other teammates’ eyes also returned to being sharp.

Team 24C moved even more cautiously.

If there were 13 groups, there were probably more than 20 teams actually deployed, and there would be even more teams currently hunting.

No matter how much scouting they did using a Spirit, it was impossible to grasp the entire map at once.

It was right to assume there were more.

Team 24C wandered for three more hours, and although they encountered a few groups of Hunters, fortunately, there was no combat.

It might have been because they didn’t go north.

By the time they were becoming a bit accustomed to the coniferous forest.

“H-Help me!”

A loud shout came from the right.

Team 24C immediately prepared for battle.

Park Ha-su threw aside the energy bar he had halfway opened and raised his sword.

A person’s figure could be seen faintly between the trees.

A few seconds later, his whole body was revealed.

It was a man wearing a Combat Uniform.

He was running toward Team 24C with a desperate expression.

“Help me! Those guys are chasing me!”

The man, who had discovered Team 24C, brightened as if he had seen a lifeline.

He repeatedly pointed behind him.

The figures of pursuers could be seen behind him.

Even at a glance, they were not Hunters from Earth.

They were wearing leather clothes and each held a long sword.

They were in the middle of chasing him at a considerably high speed.

If left as is, it was clear he would be caught in no time.

“It’s a United States flag!”

Lee Yong-chan, who was at the front, said.

The man’s military uniform definitely had a United States flag attached to it.

According to the treaty, Korean Hunters had an obligation to rescue American Hunters.

Crackle!

Kang Hye-seong responded first.

Lightning Spears consecutively split the air.

However, they failed to deal any damage.

The pursuers lightly dodged the attacks.

Their physical abilities were quite superior.

Kang Hye-seong turned to Kim Song-cheol with a desperate expression.

This was because Kim Song-cheol, who should have been firing Magic, was just watching.

Kim Song-cheol’s eyes repeatedly flickered between the American and the pursuers.

Then, at some point, his gaze became fixed on the American.

Flash!

It was also then that a Magic Circle appeared in front of Kim Song-cheol.

The moment the Magic Circle shone brightly.

Kra-doom!

A bolt of lightning falling from the sky struck exactly on the crown of the American’s head.